by People have referred to the hammer — a huge, flightless, hawk-like creature — as the most dangerous bird in the world, because it can seriously injure or kill a person or a dog instantly with its deadly claws. But what exactly is a hammerhead, and what makes this exotic bird so threatening?
What is a Hammer?
Cassavas are ratites, or birds that have flat breastbones and are unable to fly, just like their cousin, the liver. The cassowary’s habitat extends from the dense rainforests of northeastern Australia to New Guinea and surrounding islands.
Size varies from one species of cassava to another. The most common cassowaries, the southern cassowaries, can be 5 to 6 feet (1.5 to 1.8 meters) tall and weigh nearly 170 pounds (77 kilograms). A dwarf cassowary bird, on the other hand, may be only 3 feet (1 meter) tall and about 60 pounds (27 kilograms).
“Cassowaries are the heaviest bird in Australia, and the southern cassowary is the second heaviest bird in the world (the heaviest bird in the world is the ostrich),” says Rick Schwartz, global ambassador for California’s San Diego Zoo, which currently has several southern houses. cassowaries in their Safari Park, in an email interview. “With that in mind, they also have very small wings. When they reach out, their wings extend less than a foot (0.3 meters) from their body.”
What Does a Hammer Look Like?
There are three different species of cassava: northern cassava, southern cassava and dwarf cassava. The southern cassowary, often found in North Queensland and New Guinea, is famous for its striking appearance, with bristly feathers, a vivid blue face, two red wattles and a conspicuous helmet, or casque.
“Of the three species of cassowaries, only the northern and southern cassowaries have wattles,” says Schwartz. “It is thought that they can help communicate the current behavior of the bird, communicate the vitality of an individual bird to other birds or provide other cues and communications that are currently unknown to cassowaries alone.”
The bird’s casque is made of keratin, the same protein that makes up the bird’s feathers, nails and beak, according to Schwartz. “The outer covering is thick and hard,” he says, “but the inside is very porous.”
Schwartz continues, “The purpose of the crest is not fully understood, but there are several theories – including that it may help amplify vocalizations, serve as head protection as the bird pushes its head through the dense forest , or maybe it’s another way for the birds to show age and vitality.”
The Cassowary Diet
Cassowaries are frugivores, which means they eat fruit. Their claws help them dig deep into the leaf litter for fallen fruit that other species might miss. This makes them very important to the ecosystem around them, according to Schwartz.
It explains any fruit seeds the bird eats through the cassava’s digestive tract as it walks by. “Therefore, their excrement sends seeds that are surrounded in natural fertilizer, helping to spread the diversity of plants in their region.”
Because of the important role they play in dispersing these fruit seeds far and wide, researchers consider cassowaries to be a keystone species. Due to their large size, they are able to disperse larger seeds than most birds, such as those of the Ryparosa, a rare Australian rainforest tree.
The Cassowary Family Unit
Male cassava play a more prominent role than female cassava in raising their young. After the female lays her eggs, the male takes part in incubation and then becomes the primary caretaker of the young cassava chicks after they hatch.
“The female goes back to her solitary life,” says Schwartz, “and she doesn’t participate in the incubation of the eggs or the care of the young. This may be a way to allow her to have some clutches of eggs in one breeding season with different males, ie thus diversifying their genetics into the next generation.”
Cassowaries vs Emus
Although cassava is not aa, emu and cassowaries can be considered related in taxonomy (the science of classifying animals for living and extinct species), Schwartz said. “They have the same scientific order [Casuariiformes],” he explains. “But, within that order, they are in different scientific families.”
Cassowaries are descended from Dinosaurs
Cassowaries are direct descendants of the dinosaurs. As Rainforest Rescue’s Save the Cassowary campaign notes, modern birds descended from dinosaurs, and cassowaries are one of the oldest living bird species.
The cassock of the case may have had a function similar to the helmet of the lambeosaurus (a duck-billed dinosaur). There are also similarities in their feet and respiratory systems between cassowaries and theropod dinosaurs. Finally, there are similarities between their breeding behavior and some groups of dinosaurs.
Why can’t Cassowaries fly?
The feathers of cassowaries are not suitable for flight. Cassava has dense, black feathers that are long and thin compared to the broad, shapely feathers of flightless birds, according to Schwartz. “From a distance, some people even say that the cassowary’s feathers look more like hair,” he says.
“The cassowary’s feathers are not suitable for flight, but they work very well for a ground-dwelling bird in a forest ecosystem,” he continues. “The thinner, longer feathers help direct water away from the body and also protect the bird’s body from low branches, sharp twigs and thorns.”
What Makes a Hammerhead a Dangerous Bird?
The speed and physical characteristics of cassowaries are a serious threat. Thanks to their powerful legs, cassowaries can run about 31 miles per hour (50 km/h), even through dense forest underbrush. These muscular legs end in claw-toed toes that can pack a pretty powerful punch, including heavy bleeding and fatal wounds to the victim’s internal organs.
“The claw on the inside toe of each foot is what’s so impressive,” says Schwartz. “Among the three species, that claw is very sharp and can be between 3 and 5 inches (7 to 12 centimeters) long. The cassowary will use these sharp claws and their powerful kick to protection. It is often said that they can evict a person in one kick, although there is no record of this happening.”
Do Cassowaries Attack People?
Cassowaries sometimes attack people and are even capable of killing a person. In 2019, a hammerhead killed a 75-year-old man from Florida who was raising the bird on his property. After he tripped and fell, the bird attacked him, and he later succumbed to his injuries in hospital.
In Florida, where the man died, the state lists cassowaries (along with alligators and wild cats) as Class II animals because of the danger they pose. This means that anyone who wants to own it must pass numerous tests and obtain special permission from local authorities. Even then, it is clear that cassowary attacks will still happen, because of how unpredictable the bird can be.
Fortunately, attacks like this are rare. According to Guinness World Records, you are much more likely to get bitten by a snake or even an infection transmitted by a dog than to injure a cassowary.
In addition, cassowaries are far from being the deadliest animal in the world. That title goes to mosquitoes, which are responsible for between 725,000 and 1 million human deaths per year by transmitting disease-causing pathogens.
To avoid a hammer attack, do not provoke the bird. Better yet, don’t leave it entirely.
Where to See Cassowary
The best place to see a cassowary is at a zoo or other animal park. This is not only for your safety but also because it is extremely rare to come across a cassowary in its natural habitat.
The dense flora of the rainforest would make it difficult to see a hammerhead, even with its bright head. Also, you are unlikely to hear one, as its bird call is right at the edge of human hearing.
“It’s the lowest call known from any bird,” Schwartz says of the deep, low-frequency booming sound. “And it’s so low that it borders on being inaudible to the human ear. If you’re nearby when it makes this call, you can feel the vibrations in your chest.”
According to Schwartz, cassowaries are good at avoiding people.
“With their excellent hearing, they’ll hear you coming long before you even know they’re there, and they’ll probably run into the forest to avoid you,” he says. “However, if you come across one in the wild, it’s better to give them plenty of space and not touch them than to try to feed them.”
The Cassowary Population is Declining
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species (the world’s most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species), the three cassava species are listed as Least Concern — but the populations decreasing. .
“Like many species, their biggest challenges are habitat loss due to human population growth; road construction (causing car strikes); and nest predation by human-introduced animal species, ” says Schwartz. “The good news is that the governments of the countries cassowaries call home are increasing their conservation efforts.”
Dogs are another major threat to young cassava, as is hunting. Poachers catch young birds and sell them for their meat and wonderful feathers.
According to Rainforest Rescue, there are less than 4,600 cassowaries left in the wild. (Thank God, that’s up from the 2021 number, which was less than 1,000!)
The dwarf cassava, also known as Bennett’s cassowary, in New Guinea is the most threatened. An organization based in Australia, Rainforest Rescue is working to protect and restore the bird’s natural habitat, as well as create a safe passage for these and other creatures by strategically buying back rainforest property and rainforest that has been regenerate her damage.
Background: The Cassowary is the most dangerous bird in the world
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